18:39 February 22, 2013PressReleaseComments Off on Telecom Customers No Longer Compromised After Cyber Attack

Press Release – Telecom New Zealand

Telecoms Yahoo! Xtra active email customer base, whose accounts were compromised due to a cyber attack, have now changed their passwords.

Telecom Customers No Longer Compromised Following Cyber Attack

Telecom’s Yahoo! Xtra active email customer base, whose accounts were compromised due to a cyber attack, have now changed their passwords.

On Saturday Telecom cancelled the existing passwords of approximately 87,000 accounts that were sending spam after a cyber attack. Since then more than 65,000 users have changed their passwords. The balance has been identified by Telecom as having been inactive for at least 90 days before the attack.

Telecom CEO Retail, Chris Quin, says the majority of the users who were impacted made the changes required online by following detailed steps on Telecom’s website.

“We really appreciate the patience our customers have shown during what we know was a hugely stressful and inconvenient time for them. We share our customers’ frustration which is why we are conducting a thorough review of this situation. In the meantime, we continue to urge everyone to regularly change their passwords, not just those who have been impacted by this incident.”

All Telecom broadband customers receive a complimentary Yahoo! Xtra email account as well as other benefits such as a free Flickr Pro account for managing photos and video content.

Mr Quin says Telecom’s broadband customer base has remained stable despite the cyber attack and the team are working hard to ensure that does not change. “Most customers understand that their email and broadband account are not mutually exclusive.”

Yahoo! NZ general manager, Laura Maxwell-Hansen, says, ““Yahoo! places considerable focus on email security and we have and will continue to work hard to minimize the impact of cyber attacks.”